Personal transporter apparatus such as skates, roller blades, skateboards, hoverboards, and scooters are frequently associated with sport and leisure activities. Such personal transporter apparatus are also used for travel to and from school or a place of employment. These personal transporters typically rely on the rider or user to generate the drive force needed to move the personal transporter and rider.
One disadvantage of personal transport apparatus powered solely by the user is that use of the personal transporter is discouraged by longer distance trips, terrain with slopes, and terrain that might be easy to traverse in one direction but is materially more difficult to traverse in the other direction due to slope.
One approach for assisting the user is to integrate a motor and power system into the personal transporter to assist or provide the drive force. Such integration tends to significantly alter the form factor, increase the cost, and impose additional constraints on the maintenance and care of the apparatus. Motorization may not even be feasible for some personal transport apparatus due to the form factor (size) of the apparatus (e.g., skates).